- architectural ref | ) rd Ne 4H ee tation Dr. Richard Roberts, chairman of the WSC history department and history professor, has long been interested in the unique railroading background of Ogden. As a consultant for Ogden City in the development of the Union Station Museum and 25th Street restoration, Dr. Roberts did extensive research for information and pictures, writing an article about the history of the station entitled “The Ogden Union Station as an Architectural Reflection of Ogden City History and Cultural Values.” The first railroad station in Ogden, built in 1869, was a “prime example of wher were sacrificed to the cost of providing construction materials . and repre railroad construction trends. The structure was a two story building built of wood was painted red. It provided a ticket office, waiting rooms, baggage office and frei area around the depot was described as a slough . . . entrance to the depot wasa ted southwesterly from 24th Street to the depot entrance,” said Dr. Roberts. As early as 1870 Ogden residents complained about the structure, claiming thati thy representation of the Junction City, however they had to endure with that depo . . . the Ogden citizens were right. The station did not give a good impression of cultural values.” Railroad passengers that thronged the old station were, according to an early wril “an interesting sight to watch . . . one would see blue-coated, brass-buttoned offics the United States Army, mining men, prospectors, longhaired, buckskin-dressedf trappers; red blanketed Indians from the Indian country north, west and south; primitive time wearing bamboo, top like hat. Added to these were well-dressed, We from the eastern cities going to California and quite aristocratic-looking English, f Germans traveling by way of San Francisco and the Pacific to China, Japan,’ Australia . The humble came too, added Dr. Roberts, the railroad brought@h” migrants to Utah who came to settle in the valleys . . . others passed through Ogdeimay other parts of the United States. . = “Citizens of the community agitated for a more imposing structure .. . finally the railroad agreed and Henry Van Brunt was commissioned as architect for the new station . . . He was considered one of the most articulate and respected architects of. the late 19th Century in America . . . he designed the Omaha, Cheyenne and Portland stations,” said Dr. Roberts. He pointed out that the building which was built in 1889 was not the building the architect designed originially, but altered because of dictates of sponsors and certain practical needs. "Both wings of the building were two floors high. A double gabled transecting facade with Romanesque windows was added in the middle of the left wing... the tower was moved to the center of the main transept.” The architect felt architecture should be a teaching, shaping force and the railroad station was eclectic, representing ‘a variety of civilizations coming to focus in America . . . a nation of immigrants from various backgrounds and cultures.” The Ogden Band, prominent dignitaries, Masonic Order, Fire Department, Hook and Ladder Company, Select Knights of the AOUW and the Knights of Pythius and the Fort Douglas 16th Infantry Band, all dressed in colorful uniforms and plums, performed at elaborate cornerstone ceremonies attended by 5,000 to 6,000 people. There were speeches, music and a poem written by Dr. A. S. Condon for the occasion. A banquet and dance for $5 a piece highlighted the opening of the station-hotel, as it was described, and called the Union Depot.